You've gotta dumb things down for me.

Posted Apr 29 2009 11:22pm

HELLO Internet! Lots of things are happening at my house, let me tell you! We are doing a KITCHEN RENOVATION. The house we live in is 50 years old (I know this because the man who built it is my next door neighbor and he told me so) and still had the original cabinets. Meaning, when it was time to start the demolition, I was so sick of the dilapidated condition of what I had been living with for the last 5 years I was able to rip all of the doors off with my bare hands. How convenient!

I went to my Weight Watchers meeting yesterday and we learned about CARBS. (and may I add that I'm back in the 180's??! WOO HOO!!!!) I enjoyed the lesson and thanks to Dr. Hempel I was able to share some REALLY interesting information about the good, the bad, and the ugly of carbohydrates. It's all about speed, baby. If you're ready to take off running down the street, eat that package of gummy worms and GO because you're eating simple carbs and did you know that they can START ABSORBING INTO YOUR SYSTEM THROUGH THE GLANDS IN YOUR MOUTH??? That's not fair! At least give me 5 minutes of guilt-free satisfaction before you attach yourselves to my butt.

Complex carbs? Not as bad... they take about 45 minutes to process so you can eat a nice dinner with some complex carbs, visit with your family, and then take them for a walk to start burning them off!

AND... did you know... FIBER is a carb? I'M SERIOUS! I had no idea until Dr. Hempel shared this fact with me. (if only I'd been listening to him all of these years instead of tuning him out... no telling what I would have learned.) Fiber is just considerate enough to not be absorbed by our system & "passes on through," if you know what I mean...

And then we have PROTEINS. Which are not carbs... they are our friends and when we eat them, they HANG OUT. It takes a few hours before our bodies start to absorb them so it gives us time for our tummies to feel satisfied so we can walk PAST the simple carbs and say "SUCK IT- my butt is big enough."

And the BOTTOM LINE IS... ALL of the above will eventually turn into sugar. YOU just choose which rate of speed you would like to convert that food into calories: Candy? INSTANT. Brown rice? You've got some time to get ahead of the game & burn it off. Shrimp? They'll swim around in your tummy for a few hours, slowly processing, while you feel full and satisfied. Just like the yummy protein bar I just ate!

It's so important to make good decisions about what we're eating. It's even better when you "get it" when it comes to WHAT to eat and WHY. Hopefully I'll be able to find some decent things to eat this week WITHOUT A KITCHEN. Wish me luck on that one and FEEL FREE to invite me to your house for dinner. I'd love to eat your complex carbs & protein!